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The Practices, Orientation, Satisfaction, and Sexual Response in Men with Spinal Cord Injury

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Abstract

In several spinal injuries, motor impairments significantly compromise the individual's activities. Thus, in an individual with a spinal cord injury (SCI) some sexual mechanisms are compromised, such as erectile capacity, ejaculation, semen quality, orgasm, fertility, and psychological changes. To understand the sexuality and the personal history of sexual function of the individual is crucial, since the recovery of sexual function is reported as a priority by individual with an SCI. So, the aim of this study was to investigate the practices, orientation, satisfaction, and sexual response in men with spinal cord injury (SCI). This is a cross-sectional study. The Human Sexuality Questionnaire LM (LM-QSH) was used to compare the responses before and after an SCI. The paired t-test was used to compare responses before and after the SCI. After SCI, it was observed that 94%, of men maintained an active sex life, with 50% having sex ≤ 1 time per week. After SCI individuals reported greater pleasure in the mouth, neck, and ears, and there was a reduction in sexual responses. Of men reporting, 90% made medium to large sexual adjustments, both physically and psychologically. The results of the present study demonstrated that men with SCI maintained an active sex life and unchanged sexual desire. Most of men with SCI were not advised about physical and psychological sexual adjustments when adapting to sex, both physical and emotional.

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Funding

Institutional Funding Agency: PROBIC (Programa Institucional de Bolsas da Faculdade Ciências Médicas de Minas Gerais). The author(s) disclosed the receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: There is no external support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departament of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medical Sciences of Minas Gerais, Alameda Ezequiel Dias, 275-Centro, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30120-010, Brazil

    Ana Carolina Monteiro Lessa de Moura, Carolina Neves Rodrigues, Pollyana Helena Vieira Costa & Janaine Cunha Polese

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  1. Ana Carolina Monteiro Lessa de Moura
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  2. Carolina Neves Rodrigues
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  3. Pollyana Helena Vieira Costa
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  4. Janaine Cunha Polese
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Correspondence to Janaine Cunha Polese.

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This study approved by the Research Ethics Committee (CAAE 60849516.4.0000.5134).

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de Moura, A.C.M.L., Rodrigues, C.N., Costa, P.H.V. et al. The Practices, Orientation, Satisfaction, and Sexual Response in Men with Spinal Cord Injury. Sex Disabil 38, 615–623 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-020-09666-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-020-09666-9

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